BBC: Sunday, 3 December, 2000, 22:59 GMT
Mugabe warns against legal action
About 1,700 farms have been
occupied
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has warned white farmers
that they will be forced off their land if they persist with legal challenges
against government plans to seize their farms and redistribute them to blacks.
He said: "I urge farmers to drop the nonsense of fighting the land issue in
the courts, as that will make us even more angry.
"If the farmers cannot be harmonious, ... then we will ask them to leave our
country harmoniously."
Olusegun Obasanjo, right, urged Mugabe to follow the
law
|
The Zimbabwe Government has ignored a number of court
orders to evict ruling party supporters who have illegally occupied about 1,700
white-owned farms since February in support of the redistribution programme.
Zimbabwe's highest court, the Supreme Court, has declared the government land
resettlement programme illegal and the High Court has made two orders to end the
often violent occupations.
'Irreversible'
On Thursday Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and South African President
Thabo Mbeki also urged Mr Mugabe to follow the law.
What Zimbabwe should do is strictly follow the law that is
already in place
|
Olusegun Obasanjo |
Mr Mugabe says it is immoral that some 4,500 white
farmers own about 12 million hectares (30 million acres) of the country's prime
farming land while blacks, who form the majority of the 12.5 million population,
are squeezed into arid areas.
He plans to seize about five million hectares of white-owned land for blacks.
Mr Obasanjo said: "What Zimbabwe should do is strictly follow the law that is
already in place," he said, adding that the unrest and economic problems caused
by the land issue could spill across borders.
He also said he had been asked to mediate between Mr Mugabe and Britain, the
former colonial power, over compensation for white land owners - descendants of
colonial era British settlers.
Economic crisis
The independent Zimbabwean paper the Sunday Mail reported that Mr Mugabe said
Britain had given up its efforts to obstruct Zimbabwe's land reform programme.
"(Zimbabwe's) government is now moving on an irreversible course of acquiring
land and redistributing it to the people across all the rural provinces," the
paper quoted Mr Mugabe as saying.
Mark Malloch Brown, administrator of the United Nations Development Program,
warned on Friday after talks with Mr Mugabe that donors would not finance
reforms until laws were obeyed and violence stopped.
President Mugabe's critics say he is playing up the issue of land to divert
attention from Zimbawe's economic crisis - the worst since independence in 1980.
Farm occupations have cut production of tobacco and other export crops, and
most foreign loans have been halted. Hard currency shortages have led to acute
shortages of petrol.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has reportedly warned whites that they risk
expulsion from the country unless they stop fighting his land reform plan in
court.
State radio has reported that Mugabe had already warned white
commercial farmers of expulsion if they continued their court battle against his
planned seizure of 3,000 white-owned farms.
The land is to be
redistributed among landless blacks, according to the government's
plan.
The state-controlled Sunday Mail newspaper quoted Mugabe as saying:
"I urge farmers to drop the nonsense of fighting the land issue in the courts,
as that will make us even more angry.
"If the farmers cannot be
harmonious, ... then we will ask them to leave our country
harmoniously."
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and South Africa's
Thabo Mbeki met Mugabe on Thursday. After the two-and-a-half hour meeting,
Obasanjo said he and Mbeki had urged Zimbabwe to follow its own laws when
seizing land for redistribution.
Zimbabwe's highest court, the Supreme
Court, has declared the government land resettlement program illegal because the
seizures are not performed in accordance with legislation passed by Mugabe's
ruling party in April.
That legislation requires the government to
evaluate the value of and pay for improvements, such as roads and irrigation,
made to land it seizes. Owners must also receive a three-months notice of the
seizure.
The government has also ignored two High Court orders end ruling
party militants' illegal and often violent occupations of about 1,700
white-owned farms. The occupations, described by Mugabe as a justified protest
against unfair ownership of land by whites, began in February.
About
4,000 white farmers own a third of Zimbabwe's productive land, where about two
million farm workers and their family members live. About 7.5 million live on
the other two-thirds.
Why should we listen to Fraser?
by Michael Barnard
Former Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, who seems to
have lost quite a few things in his time - from his pants in Memphis to a
"drover's dog" election in 1983 - never ceases to amaze.
His self-reinvention has become one of the more intriguing
sideshows of Australian politics. Although, it must be noted, Mr Fraser
explains that it is not he who has changed but the world around
him.
If that is the same world that is around us, too, a question
might be in order.
Recently Mr Fraser returned to what appears to be an
increasingly acid critique of Australia's relationship with the United States,
casting grave doubts on the usefulness of any continuing alliance.
Now, you do not have to be a victim of America's tough trading
policies or fall into any other category of specific resentment to harbour
misgivings over the US today. It is an odd mix, to say the least.
It remains, however, that the US is the world's most powerful
nation and vibrant democracy. It shares many cultural values with us and we
have stood side by side in more than one grim crisis.
Even to hint at jeopardising this in favor of some notional
closer accommodation with 'Asia", and supposed enhancement of our ultimate
security, is to draw the longest bow this side of Sherwood Forest.
Mr Fraser is on more understandable ground in calling for
increased defence spending (he says double it), but even here the question
arises why he did not do more towards this end during the seven wasted years of
government when he had the numbers to achieve almost anything.
The need for great self-sufficiency in defence has been
abundantly clear for years and can be viewed Independently of any
alliance.
It is not the objective here to explore the many policy
contradictions between Fraser the PM and Fraser the Reborn - differences which
prompted one political commentator (The Australian, August 28) to project the
image of "an isolated figure, far to the left of mainstream Liberal thinking and
fundamentally aligned with the political forces he spent his prime ministership
fighting tooth and claw".
But the US is , to put it mildly, important, and in the
specific of international affairs, Mr Fraser's capacity for sound judgment is
easily assessed. His crowning glory - although even this failed later to win
him the prize fo secretary-general of the commonwealth - was the "settlement"
that brought the Marxist terrorist Robert Mugabe to power in Zimbabwe in
1980.
As Philip Ayres wrote approvingly in his 1987 biography
Malcolm Fraser (LHeinemann Australia): "The centrality of Fraser"s part in the
processes leading to Zimbabwe's independence is indisputab le. All of the major
African figures involved affirm it."
Mr Fraser was even accorded credit for softening (or
outwitting) a far more cautious Margaret Thatcher, who rightly saw the dangers
ahead.
Tanzania"s President, Julius Nyerere considered Mr Fraser's
role "crucial at many points"> President Kenneth Kaunda, whose own
achievements included reducing Zambia to a one-party state, described Mr
Fraser"s role as "vital".
As for Mugabe, he is quoted in the Ayres" biography: "I got
enchanted by him (Fraser), we became friends...he"s really motivated by a
liberal philosophy."
Mugabe's own "liberal philosophy" is beyond doubt. In the
"liberation" of "white" Rhodesia his terror squads used some of the most hideous
violence on record-with most of the victims fellow blacks.
The same applied after Mugabe came to power - thousands of
Ndebele tribespeople slaughtered by Mugabe"s notorious Fifth
brigade.
Even now, as Zimbabwe slides deeper into economic chaos and
social mayhem, more blacks than whites are being killed. This time the victims
are largely supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change.
Thousands of black agricultural workers are being terrorised
as Mugabe's continue to occupy white farms in defiance of a Supreme Court
ruling.
One notorious leader, Chakwana Mueri, aka "Comrade Jesus", was
freed from custody to take possession of a tobacco farm even while facing
charges of murder and "public violence".
All of this was easily predictable 20 years ago. Sadly, Mr
Fraser seems to have said little or nothing publicly about the deplorable
misdeeds of the power-crazed hoodlum who regards him as a "personal
friend".
This is the more surprising since Mugabe has shown the utmost
contempt for a cardinal principle dear to Mr Fraser: The rule of law. And
equally surprising given that Mugabe's chief target is not white farmers but
democratic blacks.
If Mr Fraser made such a terrible misjudgment over Zimbabwe,
he is on shaky ground to now lecture us about the United
States.
CNN: 4
December 2000
ZIMBABWE'S Ruling Party Seeks to Win Back
Workers' Support
ZIMBABWE'S War Veterans Ask Judges to Resign
within 14 Days
Mugabe Says Whites who don't like Land Reform
Should Leave
ZIMBABWE'S Ruling Party Seeks to Win Back Workers'
Support
HARARE (Dec. 4) XINHUA - The ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic
Front (ZANU-PF) needs to mobilize the working class and the unemployed youths to
ensure a landslide victory in the presidential elections scheduled for 2002, an
official was quoted as saying by a local newspaper on Monday.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Herald on Sunday, ZANU-PF Secretary for
Information and Publicity Nathan Shamuyarira said it is unfortunate that a lot
of workers have been fooled to think that the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) has their interests at heart. Actually, it has nothing to offer to
the workers because employers and the Commercial Farmers' Union are controlling
it.
He stressed that the ruling party needs to win back the support of most
working people in the towns who voted for the MDC during the parliamentary
elections in June this year.
"As we head towards the presidential elections, we take cognizance of the
fact that we have been through a momentous year, first the referendum, the
elections and the land issue. We need to gear ourselves to advance our position
and defend our interests, " Shamuyarira said.
The ZANU-PF also needs to usher in new blood in most structures of the party
to bring in new ideas capable of shaping the country positively, he added.
ZIMBABWE'S War Veterans Ask Judges to Resign within 14
Days
HARARE (Dec. 4) XINHUA - Zimbabwean war veterans have warned that they will
give the country's judges 14 days to resign, following recent rulings on the
land issue, a newspaper reported on Monday.
According to The Herald, Deputy Chairman of the War Veterans for Harare
Province Mike Moyo said on Sunday that the war veterans are now declaring a war
on the country's judges, whom are accused of making their own laws which seek to
reverse the gains of the liberation struggle.
He said the judges will be removed from the bench by force if they do not
resign.
"We are the custodians of the people's revolution and we will not allow these
colonial and racist judges to continue to serve white colonial interests in
Zimbabwe under the guise of the so- called rule of law," Moyo said.
The Zimbabwean government has over the past few months clashed with the
courts and white commercial farmers over the occupation of land by liberation
war veterans, who have since this February been occupying the land which they
say was seized by colonial settlers from their ancestors.
In some cases, the courts issued orders compelling the government to evict
the war veterans from the farms, but the occupations continued.
The country's traditional chiefs should lead all the peasants in the fight to
reclaim their land, Moyo added.
Mugabe Says Whites who don't like Land Reform Should
Leave
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- President Robert Mugabe has warned white commercial
farmers of expulsion if they continue their court battle against his plan to
seize 3,000 white-owned farms and redistribute the land to blacks without land,
Zimbabwe's state media reported Sunday.
"I urge farmers to drop the nonsense of fighting the land issue in the
courts, as that will make us even more angry," Mugabe said Saturday at a
tree-planting ceremony in an eroded tribal area near the capital, Harare,
according to the state-controlled Sunday Mail newspaper.
"If the farmers cannot be harmonious, ... then we will ask them to leave our
country harmoniously," he said. State radio also reported the comments.
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and South African President Thabo Mbeki
met with Mugabe on Thursday, and urged Zimbabwe to follow its own laws when
seizing land for redistribution.
Zimbabwe's highest court, the Supreme Court, has declared the government land
resettlement program illegal because the seizures are not performed in
accordance with legislation passed by Mugabe's ruling party in April.
That legislation requires the government to evaluate the value of and pay for
improvements, such as roads and irrigation, made to land it seizes. Owners must
also receive a three-months notice of the seizure.
The government has also ignored two High Court orders to end ruling party
militants' illegal and often violent occupations of about 1,700 white-owned
farms. The occupations, described by Mugabe as a justified protest against
unfair ownership of land by whites, began in February.
About 4,000 white farmers own a third of Zimbabwe's productive land, where
about 2 million farm workers and their family members live. About 7.5 million
live on the other two-thirds.
Obasanjo told reporters he warned Mugabe that imbalances in land ownership
could only be resolved if legal processes were followed.
"What Zimbabwe should do is strictly follow the law that is already in
place," he said, adding that the unrest and economic problems caused by the land
issue could spill across borders.
He also said he had been asked mediate between Mugabe and Britain, the former
colonial power, over compensation for white land owners -- descendants of
colonial era British settlers -- whose farms were being nationalized.
The Sunday Mail reported that Mugabe said Britain had given up its efforts to
obstruct Zimbabwe's land reform program.
"(Zimbabwe's) government is now moving on an irreversible course of acquiring
land and redistributing it to the people across all the rural provinces," the
paper quoted Mugabe as saying.
Mark Malloch Brown, administrator of the United Nations Development Program,
warned Friday after talks with Mugabe that donors would not finance reforms
until laws were obeyed and violence stopped.
Zimbabwe is facing its worst economic crisis since independence in 1980. Farm
occupations have cut production of tobacco and other export crops, and most
foreign loans have been halted. Hard currency shortages have led to acute
shortages of gasoline.
COMMERCIAL FARMERS'
UNION
FARM INVASIONS AND SECURITY
UPDATE
Monday
4th December
2000
NATIONAL REPORT IN
BRIEF:
-
Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland West
(South) and Mashonaland West (North) all reported a relatively quiet
weekend.
-
Illegal
settlers on Cambridge Farm in Marondera North have claimed that the farm is too
sandy so are looking to move back to their home
area.
-
In Wedza, a tractor
driver who was ploughing for illegal invaders on Leeds Farm was beaten up over
the weekend by farm workers.
-
In Headlands, a group of eight people threatened to
burn out Longfields and Fairfields 9 and 10 farms in retribution for the removal
of illegal occupiers by police.
-
War veteran
representative, Mhwariri threatened to bring 600 invaders onto the Chiredzi
Farmers' Association Chairman's farm if the farmers continue to take issue of
land to the courts. The representative claimed that a lot of the illegal
squatters were MDC supporters who had been put on the properties to discredit
ZANU PF and suggested that the only way forward was to make a deal with the war
veterans themselves.
REGIONAL
REPORTS:
Mashonaland
Central
General - The province had a relatively
uneventful weekend although work stoppages and illegal ploughing and planting by
invaders have continued unabated. It would appear that in most cases, these
actions are being carried out in order to provoke farm
owners.
Tsatsi - Invaders had tractors ploughing at
Rivers and Three Sisters over the weekend.
Glendale - Planted soya beans are being
ploughed in by invaders at Thrums today.
Mutepatepa - Yesterday, invaders were tending
cotton planted by the owner of Riverview which they have seemingly "acquired".
The owner of Dunaverty was prevented from cutting wood to use for tobacco curing
this morning and later war vet Chimbondi stopped soya bean planting against
direct orders by ZRP. Invaders are ploughing with oxen at Rosetta Rust, where
soya bean planting has been stopped, and Butcombe.
Mazowe / Concession - There is ongoing land
preparation and planting by invaders on various farms in the area.
Harare West - Invaders are ploughing and
planting at Mount Hampden today and continue to do so on other farms as
previously reported.
Mashonaland
East
Beatrice - A DDF tractor was ploughing on
Evergreen Farm, Goldilands and Dunrobin this weekend.
Bromley / Ruwa - Fourdyce and Sanga
farms were visited with pegging and planting taking place. A hired
tractor was ploughing for farm invaders on Lincoln farm and then moved on to
plough on Lester.
Enterprise - Six people
were planting in a land prepared for seed maize. The farmer is still not able to grow his
crops. Pioneer Seeds is taking the case
before the Lands Committee as the farmer grows seed for
them.
Harare South - Albion,
Aldington and Marirangwe have all had ploughing or planting on the farms.
Marondera - Illegal ploughing or
planting is taking place on the following farms: Wenimbe, Lydiasdale, Machiki, Esperance,
Ruware, Tarara, and Home Park.
Muyambo, an
employee of the Marondera Municipality who previously had accused the owner of
burning squatters huts, instigated ploughing on Wenimbe (S Pratt) over the
weekend. Muyambo was warned by the owner
but persisted in ploughing about 2ha. The
police intercepted the group of would-be planters who were transported
from Marondera, but later another group succeeded in planting on the farm.
Marondera North - Illegal
ploughing is
taking place on Seaton, Welcome Home and
Oxford/Rukata. Illegal
settlers on Cambridge have claimed that the farm is too sandy and they are
looking to move back into Goromonzi.
Wedza - A tractor
driver who was ploughing for illegal invaders on Leeds farm was beaten up by
farm workers on Saturday night.
A DDF
tractor arrived this morning on Fells Estate and started ploughing in a rhodes
grass pasture. Donkeys and
cattle have been bought onto Bolton to help with the ploughing on the
farm.
Mashonaland West
(North)
General - Although illegal
ploughing is taking place on numerous farms, the weekend was generally
peaceful.
Karoi - In complete disregard for the lawful
process of acquisition, the DA wrote a letter to the owner of Kapeta Farm
stating that government now own that farm.
Trelawney / Darwendale - Maize is being
illegally planted on Harefield Farm by soldiers from Darwendale
Barracks.
Mashonaland West
(South)
General - most areas were
quiet during the weekend.
Chegutu - 5 cattle have been
moved on to Farnham Farm and are believed to come from Mhondoro where there is
an anthrax outbreak. Tiverton now has roughly 100 cattle, which also come from
Mhondoro, illegally resident. These cattle also graze on Bexhill. Despite the
anthrax threat, the Veterinary Department have issued cattle movement permits
for these cattle.
Manicaland
Headlands - Late last week, a group of eight people
threatened to burn out Longfields farm and Fairfields 9 & 10 farms because
police had removed the squatters. There is a tense situation on Yorkshire
Estates and York Estates as the farmer had allocated a portion of the farm to
accommodate squatters until the situation is legally resolved. The squatters
have now spread out so the farmer is trying to return them to their original
allocated area.
Rusape - The area remains fairly quiet. One squatter attempted to plant on Crofton,
but backed off when he was informed that this was illegal.
Masvingo
Masvingo East and
Central - Illegal ploughing continues on Southwill Estates, Beauly, Richmond, Ledard. The owner of Lothian
Farm has had another threatening letter instructing him to remove his household
property. There was Army presence on this farm last week and ploughing and
planting continues. Chidza Farm is inundated and pegging and planting
continues.
Chiredzi - An war vet representative by
the name of Mhwariri gave the Farmers' Association Chairman a letter on the
Ministry of Youth and Recreation letter head with instructions to move illegal
squatters off Oscro Ranch. This
representative claimed that a lot of the illegal squatters were MDC supporters
who had been put on the properties to discredit ZANU PF. The representative
threatened that if the FA Chairman continued to support the 'court route'
another 600 invaders could be brought onto the property and suggested that the
only way forward was to make a deal with the war veterans themselves. Mhwariri went on to say that 6500 people were
to be resettled on Nuanetsi and Buffalo Range.
Agritex officials are still present on Faversham Ranch and Alstar
Haven. Illegal
movement of cattle into the area has increased.
Mwenezi - 86 head of cattle have been
illegally moved onto Lumbergia Ranch. On Quagga Pan Ranch huts are being built
right next to the owner’s security fence. The DA has indicated that 140 people
will be settled on Lesanth Ranch.
Save Conservancy - 2 poachers were arrested on Humani Ranch over
the weekend.
Gutu / Chatsworth - Approximately 40 people
have started pegging on Nuwejaar Farm.
Malcolm Vowles, Deputy
Director (Admin & Projects). Harare 309800-18. ddap@cfu.co.zw